Chapter 4

'To a what?!' Carter's question sounded more of a cry for help

'You heard me.' I stated in a sing-song voice

'Yeah, but why? We are here to shop, let's shop. Remember I have a bet to win?'

"No, you don't"

'What?' He sounded stunned which made me more sure

I stopped in my tracks and turned to look at his face. An expression of pure bewilderment slapped across it. With his brows furrowed and his mouth open, he looked like a cat who just discovered a mirror.

'I had my doubts' I continued, 'But now I'm sure. You spent at least five minutes in your room while you were getting your "keys" and then when you finally came down, you ran back up again. From personal experience, I know that a person takes near about three minutes to pee so I ruled out that possibility since you took only about one minute. Which means you were talking to Sophie the first time and when you were coming down you either felt thirsty or remembered that you were supposed to get the keys which is why I didn't say anything. But since you look like someone just told you your deepest darkest secret, I'm gonna say that the second time you went up was for the keys' I finished drawing in a mouthful of air.

'Good work, Sherlock. Anything else?'

'Yeah, you're still coming to the restaurant and you're still helping me decorate my room'

'Fine' he said as he rolled his eyes and continued moving

***

We entered the restaurant and the faint smell of spice made me nostalgic as hell. I searched for restaurants that were authentically Indian not just namesake Indian and this was it- "Bawarchi Ghar" which literally means "the chef's house".

I told Carter that he's gonna eat what I always eat.

'Any allergies?' I asked taking precautionary measures

'Not yet but I might develop one to you after this meal' he said looking towards the door.

'No one is coming to save you. Come on! Get to know me... for the sociology project, that is.' I said correcting myself

'OK, so what are we eating?'

I called the waiter and gave the answer to Carter's question as I gave the order.

'Paw what?' he asked after the waiter went away

'Not "paw", Pav. Pav Bhaji. You'll love it' I told him unable to meet his eye

'Something tells me I won't' He answered under his breath.

'I heard that'

'You were meant to'

'Just give it a shot... please?' I gave him my best puppy eyes

'Fine' he surrendered and continued 'but...promise me... that when I die tonight, my gravestone will have "died a martyr" written on it' He said as if declaring the title of a drama. Which is true... considering I had a drama queen at my hands.

'I give you my word' I answered in between hysterics

***

We waited about fifteen minutes for the food to come. The restaurant gave such a homely vibe that I wanted to call my parents and as if they could hear me... they called... on facetime! Yowzaa!

'Hey, keep your mouth shut, okay? It's my parents' I told Carter

'bu-'

'Shhhh!' I shushed him as I answered the call

Now the call was too long and it was majorly full of 'we miss you', 'how is everything there?' and 'What's the time there?' but here's the real kicker. Apparently, one of my cousins, who live in Boston, who did not even exist till this moment is getting MARRIED next month, so my parents' are gonna come to America and spend time with me. I swear if this were Harry Potter, I would most definitely have been Ron.

As I cut the call, our food showed up.

'Here comes my death; on a silver plate' Carter caroled as the waiter served us our food.

I looked at the dish with the same sense of homesickness as I felt on entering this place. Four pieces of bread, each the size of half a hotdog slice lay in front of me along with the main ingredient the bhaji. As our waiter started laying down the rest of the cutlery... that is, fork, knife, spoon, I dismissed him.

'Ever heard the saying "When in Rome, do as the Romans do"?' I asked Carter

'Where is this leading?' He asked with the expression of a person who is going to be declared guilty.

'Relax! It's not the goddamn 'Hunger Games' for god's sake! Just eat like this'

I showed him as I took one piece of bread and covered it in bhaji. For those of you who don't know... the bhaji isn't exactly subtle in taste. It's an explosion of spices in your mouth and I had a feeling it wouldn't feel as Cathartic to Mr.stopwatch as it did to me.

Still, he followed what I did and what followed next wasn't precisely pretty.

***

Carter's POV

OK. First of all, we had gravy competitions in school, alright? And I can give you a medical certificate that I'm not cut out for this spicy stuff. But... she was right, I could give it a try.

As soon as I put the piece of bread in my mouth, I could feel my eyes welling up with tears. Swallowing the bite, gave the inner lining of my throat third-degree burns and I don't think tomorrow is gonna be a pleasant morning.

'Water' I croaked

'What?' she asked me 'giving up already?'

'I'm not in the mood for sarcasm, I need help. Please, water!' I managed out

'Oh god! wait!' She put her hand on mine as she called the waiter. Her widened eyes were surely a distraction from the burning sensation in my mouth

The waiter came at the pace of a turtle

'Anything I can help you with ma'am? Do you wish to talk to the chef? He's a fellow Indian'

'Shut up!' she snapped 'get me some milk... ABHI!' God knows what that last word was but it certainly startled him. He went back inside as she looked back at me.

' Eat some bread. It'll help' she advised

'I can't. I... sort of spilled the bhaji all over the bread' I answered hesitantly

'Take her buttermilk' she pointed to a customer sitting next to us

'What? No!' I retorted, heaving for breath

'Oh for god's sake, just take it' There was a commanding tone in her voice and I took the lady's glass of buttermilk.

I drank it whole while the woman gaped at me in utter dismay. I was looking at her face through the glass while Maanya gave her some money and apologized.

'Is it better?' she asked, she looked so cute when she was worried. I felt fine but now I just wanted to have some fun.

'No...' I answered shaking my head.

That... it turns out, was the last straw

'Come with me' she commanded me and dragged me to the kitchen.

We entered the kitchen- a room that really made me wonder if I would walk out of there alive. Knives, shredders, stoves, all of them just existing so that someone tries to kill themselves to a meal.

'I was kidding!' I yelled as I tried to stop her but... she didn't hear me. To be honest, I wasn't able to hear what I said due to the loud clashes and bangs of metal vessels. She went to the inventory, and grabbed some honey and gave the whole bottle to me.

'Here, eat it without asking any questions'

It would've been smooth sailing if one of the chefs hadn't seen us and started running after us. Long story short- we owe the hotel a lot of food and customers and they are probably gonna ban us and send a restraining order for us.

We dashed out of the back door and somehow managed to laugh after that near-death experience.

***

Maanya's POV

'THAT. WAS. EPIC!' I answered in between breaths

'No kidding. Still wanna go shopping or enough adventure for a day?'

'Yes, shopping is still on.' I answered as the adrenaline started fading and I looked at the time

***

We walked to the shop Carter had in mind and started browsing the shelves of sheets, posters, lamps, and god knows whatnot. There was stuff over there that I didn't even know a name for.

'Okay! So first we'll get some sheets, then a poster or quotes for the wall- whatever you prefer, frames and a soft-board considering you'll have a lot of memories and a lot to memorize, and then maybe a lamp, do you need a lamp?' He started his salesman pitch for some unknown reason.

'No, no lamp.' I answered trying to hold my snickering laughs in

'Something funny?' he inquired with a questioning look, the kind of look you would find a teacher giving you.

'No... except you're acting like you work here' I told him

'Well, I can't talk about girls with you and I also can't exactly flirt with you and those two are my usual go-to options' He responded with a sheepish grin.

'Then answer my question, why did you take me out?... as in out of the room. I added

" 'Cuz I wanted to know you, not just about you."

'And what have you come to know?'

'That you have watched Hunger Games. That you have really good reasoning skills. That you are fun when you want to be. That you have horrible taste in food and that you're a hypocrite. Now, which one do you want?' He asked as he displayed some sheets for me.

'A hypocrite?' I retorted as I started taking the sheets from him and chose from them one by one. I was going to correct him that I had read the books not only seen the movies but he just bomb-dropped on me.

'Yeah, I mean... you got so mad when I stood close to you or held your hand but when you do it, it's like it doesn't even happen'

'I guess you are right. I never thought of it that way growing up. Tell you what, now that we're getting to know each other and our culture, why don't you talk to me like you talk to anyone else? Sound good?' I said as I realized how wrong I was to treat him that way.

'Sound good.' he agreed 'So... which one?' he continued

'That one' I pointed at a white sheet with a Victorian print on it. 'And that one' I continued pointing to another one with a puppy paw print on a yellow background, 'And that one. You know what? All of them.' I concluded

'All?' he exclaimed

'Yeah, what next?'

'Uhhh...Okay go pick out some stuff for your wall'

'What about you? Aren't you coming?' I asked feeling like the most insecure little whiny baby on the planet.

"I'm coming. I just think you like my taste a little too much" he answered as he shrugged and tilted his head.

I moved toward the next counter

'So what was the call about? back at the restaurant. It seemed serious' he called out from behind me

'Some cousin of mine... who did NOT exist till yesterday is getting married. So my parents are going to come to Boston in a month'

'Why do you sound upset then'

Because you can't be seen with him then... Not in the way you want to

You don't sound upset. He's putting words in your mouth. You sound normal

Yeah... you sound normal. It's just that your normal is synonymous with your upset. I get confused too, you know? When to cry, when to have a resting bitch face.

'Just wanted to enjoy my newfound freedom I guess' I replied after much deliberation

'There's much you can do in one month'

I could feel the butterflies in my stomach so profoundly well, that I was damn sure that if I got an ultrasound done, I would be able to see them.

'Like what?' I asked as I took a quote and some frames from the shelf.

'Like... you'll see' he gave me that half-smile grin that made me weak in the knees.

I turned another aisle to get the soft-boards as Carter continued with our conversation

'So, we've seen what I know about you. What do you know about me?'

'Let's see. You can't handle good taste in food. You lie well but aren't able to keep up with it. You... either talk about girls or flirt with girls in your daily conversation, you are a Potterhead, you give out references from Sherlock Holmes and aren't a stranger to the Hunger Games fandom and... I'll keep thinking about the rest' I stated as I picked out a soft-board with little sceneries in the border.

'OK. But just to set the record straight, you are the only one who can see through my lies'

'I'm flattered' I replied while flicking my hair

'Ready to go back to campus and set this room up?'

'Yeah, except we can set it up later, it's already nine and tomorrow is the first day of college'

We moved to the billing counter and I held my breath as I realized that if I pay for all this I'm gonna be summoned back home to explain my expenses.

'After the discount, your total is $2045' the lady behind the counter informed us.

'What discount?' Carter asked

'Oh, the owner got married last week. He's a little lovesick so he is providing a 40% discount to all the couples who walk through our doors... unless you aren't a couple, that would be awkward'

'No... we are together' I told her as I laced my fingers with Carter's

'We are?' He whispered as he gave me a questioning look

'You are?' She asked, looking at us suspiciously

'We are' I told both of them 'See?' I continued as I showed her our hands

'Prove it' she said

'What? How?' I asked scowling

'Kiss' she answered

'Kiss?' I repeated

'Kiss' she responded

I had never kissed a person before. And I didn't want him to think that I was a bad kisser, I mean, I did not have a thought-out plan to get him to like me or to practice kissing before kissing him but this should not be my first kiss. Not here, not like this.

'OK' I heard Carter's voice

The very next second, he had my face cupped in his hands, his lips on mine, firm but gentle. I felt his hand move down my neck and to my waist. He pressed my body against mine and caressed my back. My lips moved automatically, it was all a blur, I still don't know what I did with my teeth, I probably bit him. My hands moved up and in his hair. My fingers feeling the soft texture of them. We were closer together now than ever before, emotionally, physically, in every human way possible. I felt my heart thumping against my chest. I felt our bodies curving as if two statues carved as a set. I felt his grip losing on me and just like that... I had my first kiss.

'Fine! point made! You get the discount' The billing woman said.

'I can't pay for that' I whispered into Carter's ears as I tugged his sleeve

'I can' he whispered back and paid the bill

He took the bags and moved out of the door. Waiting for me outside.

I started following him but the billing lady caught my hand to give me the receipt

'Nicely played' she announced after looking at Carter through the door.

***

The ride back was a silent one. Partly because of what just happened and partly because of our last bike conversation.

We reached the campus and he parked his bike. I reached in my pocket to give him the receipt. That's when I noticed, his bank statement had more zeroes in it than I had ever seen in my life.

'I know another one' I announced

'What?' he asked me

'I know another thing about you'

'And that is?' he walked towards me slowly

'You're rich. Like Richy Rich rich'

'Yeah, well, my parents were, I'm not'

'uh huh' I said as I rolled my eyes at him

'Was that your first kiss? tonight?'

'Yeah, how did you know?' I asked, very aware of what the answer was gonna be

'Well... you bit me.' He chuckled 'Did you like it though'

'Don't really have much to compare it with but I guess that that flirting led to some serious practice'

Why don't you just say that you loved it?

'cuz she isn't mental... like you

How can I be mental? That's your job to do. And they say I'm the dumb one

'We should... go to our rooms. It's late... And uh... Carter?' I continued

'Yeah?' he asked giving me a sly look which I had begun to fall for

'Promise me... that no one will know. It's just that my parents... they-'

'Hey' he held both my shoulders and shook me 'I promise, No one can know.'

***

I opened my room to see Sophie

'Hey! So what happened?' she asked as soon as I took a breath in

'Nothing happened'

'I don't believe you'

'Well, you've got to start doing it'

'You know what? we'll talk about that later but first, show me the stuff you got for decoration'